Ronald Koeman, the captain of the Dutch football team, criticized the European Union (UEFA) for the fact that only 23-man squads can be named for the continental tournament starting on June 14.
Photo: TASR/AP
Due to the coronavirus epidemic, UEFA allowed 26 rosters for the 2021 European Championship, and the captains could nominate as many players for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
With this year’s European Championship, the usual 23-man squad will return, but according to Koeman, this is absurd.
“It’s very strange that you won’t be able to choose from 26 football players,” said the specialist after the 2-1 defeat by the Germans in the warm-up match on Tuesday.
“It’s absurd that we’re going back to 23. My colleague thinks the same,” he said, referring to Julian Nagelsmann, the national team captain of Germany, the host and Hungarian group opponent at the European Championship.
“Nowadays we have to deal with many more injuries. This is related to the load-bearing capacity of the players,” said Koeman, who predicted that the Dutch association would turn to UEFA in the matter, counting on the support of other countries’ associations as well.
“If several countries come together, I think the request will be heard at UEFA,” he said.
The Dutch will be in the same group as the Poles, the French and the Austrians at the European Championship, while the Hungarians will face the Swiss and the Scots alongside the Germans.
MTI